Weekly and Daily Tasks
Welcome student employees! This is a description of each task on the daily/weekly task list in the lab. This will get you started on all the things to do here! It may seem like a lot at first, but don't worry, once you get the hang of it, it is easy! Underlined things on the printed list are important. Here, I will put things that should be done often or at certain intervals (like feeding) in italics. A * means a great effort should be placed in doing the listed task daily. Note: this page will be redone Biology Lab 313 'Daily Tasks' *''*Check water levels*'' :: Check the amount of water in all 5 tanks. Make sure there is enough. Should be done as often as possible. Ask someone to show you how much is needed. **5 tanks: coral tank, touch tank, horseshoe crab tank, guppy tank, goldfish tank. **if time permits, a quick check of salinity in the 3 salt tanks is important. *'Tidy up for next class :: '''Make the lab stations nice and clean and organized, pickup any garbage at the stations, etc. Clean sinks if possible or needed. '''2x a Week Tasks' *''Water plants'' :: Water all the plants in the lab. Pour the water in to the bottom container, rather than directly in to the dirt itself. Should be done twice a week. *'Clean tank filter sponges :: '''Clean all the sponges in the coral and touch tanks. Coral tank has 2, touch tank has one. This is also a good time to clean out any scum and algae out of the back of the coral tank where the sponges sit, along with the protein skimmer. *'Tidy up classroom ::' Give the classroom a good cleaning. Wipe down the surfaces and clean them up if possible. *Clean touch tank '':: Explained at Touch Tank , go to cleaning section. Its okay if you do not get to it twice a week. *''Clean coral tank'' :: '''Explained at Coral Tank , cleaning section. This is another good time to clean the protein skimmer if you were not able to on other days.It's okay if you are unable to do it twice in a week. '''Weekly Tasks *'Put away lab props :: '''Taking down a lab in preparation to put a new one up. Only done on Fridays. *'Set up lab ::' Preparing the lab and putting all the stations together. Only done on Fridays. *'Check Drawers :: Look through the drawers of the lab tables and make sure they have enough slides cover slips, and other supplies. Also, clean out any papers or garbage. *Feed the touch tank ::' Explained at Touch Tank , go to the feeding section. Once or twice a week. *Feed the coral tank'' :: Explained at Coral Tank , feeding section. Once or twice a week *'Empty used cover slip bowls ::' Dump out the used cover slip dishes by the sinks in to the cardboard glass trash bin by the doors in the prep lab. Might want to wear gloves to protect your hands. Monthly Tasks *'Put in tank minerals ::' Ask help for this for the first time! It is putting in minerals for the creatures in the coral tank. Will eventually be put on Coral Tank page. Done once a month or so. *'Check bench drawer for supplies ::' Make sure we have enough supplies and don't need to order anything. As Needed Tasks *'Change touch tank water :: '''Change the water in the touch tank . Ideally, this should be done at least a few times a month. *'Place seaweed on clips ::' Put some seaweed from the drawer under the touch tank on to the clear clips inside the touch tank. Can be done weekly or every once and awhile! *'Reset lab for next class ::' Replenish any supplies needed for the current lab that may have been used up, such as dialysis tubing for the water lab. *'Sharpen colored pencils :: Sharpen the colored pencils in the room. Micro Lab 317 '''Daily Tasks *''*Feed goldfish* '':: Give the goldfish some food. Find info on this at the Goldfish page feeding section! *'Check goldfish water level ::' Check the water level of the goldfish tank and add water as necessary. *'Check vesphene bottles :: '''Look at all the vesphene bottles around the room and make sure they are full. They are the yellow-ish liquid. Re-fill if needed. '''Weekly Tasks' *'Check Drawers :: '''Look through the drawers of the lab tables and make sure they have enough slides, cover slips, and other supplies. Also, clean out any papers or garbage. *'Check DI water bottles :: Check the DI water bottles around the room and make sure they are all full. Refill (with DI water only) as needed. *'Tidy up lab :: '''Make the lab stations nice and clean and organized, picking up any garbage at the stations, etc. *'Check 70% alcohol bottles :: '''If there are any alcohol bottles out, check them and re-fill if needed. *Clean goldfish tank '':: '''Clean the goldfish tank using the magnet cleaner. '''As Needed Tasks' *'Clean up teacher drawers :: '''Open up the drawers at the front teacher desk and organize them and clean them up. *'Goldfish water change :: Change the water in the tank. How to do this is on the Goldfish page. *'Goldfish gravel cleaning :: '''Clean the gravel in the goldfish tank with the gravel cleaner. *'Clear waste cart :: Clean off the waste cart to the left of the sink. Ask for help for this one. *'Clean sinks :: '''Scrub out the sinks to get them nice and shiny again. *'Dust/Check taxidermy :: Take a look at the taxidermy and care for it. Look at the taxidermy page for more details on this. *'Sharpen colored pencils :: '''Sharpen the colored pencils in the room. *'Other set-up :: '''Any set up that is not listed here. Biology Prep Lab '''Daily Tasks *''*Check in with Scott/Danielle* '':: '''Ask if anything needs to be done for the day. **Feed guppies '':: '''Information on how to do this can be found on the Guppies page. *'Check guppy and planaria water levels :: Make sure there is enough water in these tanks. The planaria water should be just above the jar, and the guppy water should be slightly below the tubes on the bottom of the lid. *'Make sure mealworms have carrot :: '''Check if mealworms have a carrot. If not, give them one. *'Put away clean dishes :: 'Put away any dishes that are totally dry and clean. *'Wash dirty dishes :: 'Wash any dishes that are dirty. *'Straighten up work areas :: '''Clean up the counters in the prep lab; organize them. '''2x a Week Tasks *'Check mealworm motes :: '''Make sure the water bowls under the mealworms are full to protect them from ants. *'Sort mealworm pupae :: Dig through the mealworm bedding with forceps and pull the pupae out to put on the top petri dish. '''Weekly Tasks *'Bio/Micro set-up :: '''Perform any prep set-up needed. Usually you will be asked to do these things. *'Feed planaria :: Information on how to do this can be found on the Planaria page. *'''Remove dead mealworms and skins :: '''Pull out dead mealworms (and beetles!) and any shed skins you find. '''As needed *'Cut lens cleaning tissue :: '''Cut some new lens cleaning tissue squares for the drawers. *'Unload carts :: Clean off the carts if needed. Ask before clearing them off. *'Clean guppy tank :: '''How to do this can be found on the guppy page. *'Clean out mealworm tank :: 'Clean out the tank thouroughly. You can read how to do this on the mealworms page. *'Clean work stations :: 'Clean up and organize the prep areas of the lab. *'Clean out fridge :: 'Pull stuff out of the fridge and give it a good scrub-down. Typically, the bottom of the fridge needs the most cleaning. Focus on that. *'Clean sinks :: 'Scrub down the sinks and make them nice and shiny. *'Split protist cultures ::